I just returned from the magic kingdom…Walt Disney World. I went to a convention that was housed in one of the 24 resorts of Disney World, not planning to visit any of the themed parks. I didn’t realize that the resort in which I stayed was in the heart of the magical world of Walt Disney. I outgrew my love of breathtaking rides a long time ago, which is really too bad. In the outgrowing, I lost something. I lost an ability to play that only children seem to have.

However, I haven’t lost my sense of wonder. I still have a sense of wonder whenever I come face-to-face with awe-inspiring people or things. And I came away from Disney World in awe of the man who created the vision that Disney World represents.

Something that occurred to me early in the week was that Walt Disney did the world a great favor. Disney World in Florida encompasses 42,000 acres and employs 66,000 people. He gave the world both a place to play and be happy and at the same time, gave thousands of people employment. His vision created jobs as well as a place to be happy. I had a pedicure while there and the pedicurist told me that all her husband ever wanted was to work for Mickey. Now they both do.

Walt Disney said once, “There’s enough land here to do anything we want.”. The man who said, “Don’t ever forget it all began with a mouse…” had a vision of greater things than a little mouse who walked and talked himself into great adventures. Disney wanted to create a world where people could forget their troubles for awhile and just be happy. He wanted to create the “happiest place on earth”.

And he did. Kids of all ages were running around joyously! Even the parents, at the end of the day, were happy. It was evident on their faces. The joy was contagious; their joy rippled out to embrace me and make me want to run and dance and sing, right along with the music that blared out everywhere!

Don’t ever forget it all started with a mouse.

Disney World is the result of a man’s vision, a vision to make people happy. He believed in the possible. He didn’t take no for an answer.

On Sunday, July 17, 1955, Disneyland hosted a live TV preview, to open DisneyLand. Walt gave the following dedication day speech:
“ To all who come to this happy place; welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past …. and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America … with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world. ”

The same Mind that Walt Disney used to create Disney Land, and everything he created, is your Mind, my Mind. How do we use it? If you’re like me, your mind is occupied with minutia, with the redundant thoughts of yesterday, thoughts that, rather than bringing about the vision you may have, instead keep you bound in a life of boredom and desperation.

Most of us don’t believe that our dreams can come true. I know the secret to life, however, and I want to share it with you. This is, I think, the secret to Walt Disney’s success in achieving his dream. The secret is simple: If you can imagine it, you can do it. If you can imagine it, you can have it. If you can imagine it, you can be it. But, again, if you’re like me, you don’t spend enough time daily, just imagining. It doesn’t take a lot of time. A few minutes a day, letting yourself dream….that’s all.

What is possible for you? What is possible for our world? Anything is possible and it all begins with you, with me. Whatever I want to see in the world….peace, love, abundance, well- being…it all begins with me. If I see war, I need to look within…what is warring within me? If I see poverty, where am I impoverished?

Walt Disney said, “…it all began with a mouse…”. It all began with a man who had a dream. What are you dreaming? Do you believe in the possible? I do, and I believe in you!

We live in an energetic universe, one that is always moving and changing, never static. We live in a universe of infinite possibilities. Knowing this, down to the atoms in your body, will make the difference in whether you live a life of quiet (or not so quiet) desperation or one that is full and rich, which is your birthright.

I love the notion of infinite possibilities! I love knowing that whatever I dream about, I will see it manifest, as long as I stay focused on it and can feel myself doing, being or having whatever I dream up.

Speaking of infinite possibilities, and an excellent example of them, for some reason I happened onto a raw food site and found a recipe for a raw chocolate cake. Hmmm, I thought, how do you make a raw chocolate cake? I looked at the recipe and the list of ingredients, and the prep time. Prep time is important to me, because cooking is not my forte, though, being vegan, I’m cooking more than I once did!

Intrigued by the idea, I bought the ingredients and set out to make the cake. Sure enough, prep time was fast…in less than 15 minutes, there was this beautiful creation! Five minutes more, and it was iced! Not only was it quick to make, but it actually was delicious! Because it had no flour, no processed sugar, and no oil, it is also good for my body!

Since this is a blog about living the life of your dreams, and not a cooking blog, you’ll have to go to my Becoming Vegan….Why? blog for the recipe! (heh, heh, how’s that for a plug?)

This is a blog about living an unlimited life, one full of infinite possibilities, and that is the reason for talking about the cake. I never would have thought I could turn dates, raisins, pecans, walnuts and raw chocolate into the most delicious chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten, but…I did! Oh, I forgot the other possibility: the icing. Using raw chocolate powder, raw agave nectar and…you’ll never believe this, drum roll, please! avocado! Mixed together, these three ingredients were fantastically delicious!! Try it, you’ll be amazed!

Infinite possibilities. We live in an energetic universe where anything is possible! Anything! Oh, one more thing: energy follows thoughts. Where is your energy going today? What thoughts are you having? Do you believe you can have a life of infinite possibilities?

Yes, you can! Just make sure your energy flows where you want it to go! Remember, your thoughts become things…make sure they are the things you want to see!

Success and happiness – who doesn’t want these? But success and happiness mean something different to every person. One person may think she isn’t successful unless she has x-amount of dollars in her bank account. For another, success and happiness men doing what she loves and making a good living at it. For another, it may mean the house of his dreams, a family to cherish, a job that pays well.

However you define success and happiness, philosopher Ernest Holmes says, “Success and happiness are ours when we deal with Absoluteness.” When Holmes talks about Absoluteness, he’s talking about the Force of the universe, that One unifying Power that created the universe and everything in it, including you and me. He’s talking about a Force, or Energy, if you prefer, that is limitedness. The Absolute that we must deal with in order to be happy and successful has no boundaries, has no limitations. Holmes also says this is the attitude that we must have to be successful and happy: we – you and I – have no limitations. Nothing limits us but ourselves.

What does that mean for your life? Most of us have dreams – something we want to do, be, or have. Most of us live with a yearning for something that often we can’t even name. Or we have a dream for a life we don’t believe we can attain.

When I was a young girl, I had dreams, but I thought, as many of us do, that was all those dreams would ever be. I didn’t know those dreams could ever come true. I thought life happened to me and I just lived it as it came. Sometimes I was happy; more often I wasn’t, as I kept yearning.

Cale was a dreamer, but she put wings to her dreams. One day her dad brought home an injured racehorse. Everybody thought he should put it down. He nursed the horse back to health, with the plan to put it out for stud duty. Cale had other plans. She knew the horse was a racer. She believed in him. She believed in dreaming big…her dream was so big, it shook the ground!

Despite many obstacles, Cale and her horse won the big race. Cale saw her dream take form. Her dream, manifest, caused her father to regain hope.

Once I realized that it was okay for me to have dreams and believe that they could come true, my dreams took flight, and, one by one, began to manifest. Every dream I’ve had has come true. And I keep having more.

I believe in dreams; I believe in success and happiness. I believe in the Absolute and I believe that I am limited only by my own mind.

And…my dreams are so big they shake the ground!

What about you? Do you know that you have the power within you – that you are the person who can bring about success and happiness for yourself, however you define it? It’s up to you.

How you define success happiness? What are you willing to do to have it?